You Had To Be There
by BarrelRacer13
Summary: Hermes goes to talk to Luke in the Feilds of Punishment, but is Luke ready to accept him? one-shot   bad summery, please read and review!


**This song always makes me think of Hermes and Luke. **

'**Had to be There' by Tim McGraw. You should listen to it…it's good.**

Hermes stared at his son, stuck in the Fields of Punishment. He couldn't go closer then what the cell aloud him to. Hades had been in a good enough mood to put Luke in a 'jail cell' for the time Hermes would be there. All the Olympian wanted was for his son to know how much he really cared.

"Please, Luke! I don't hate you, I never had, and I never will! I couldn't stop May from-"

"You didn't have to stop her from anything! You should've kept yourself from even meeting her! Then I wouldn't be here!" Luke snapped.

_**He sat down, picked up the phone and said Boy, I'm your old man.  
>He touched the glass between the two, as if to shake his hand<br>The boy he didn't budge, not even so much as a blink  
>The man said oh come on, better late than never, don't ya think.<strong>_

"Why….what would push you to think that? I wasn't trying to meet your mom, I was ordered to keep her from getting on a plane for stupid reasons. Then we just kinda…became friends…but she loved you, she still does, I do, and-"

"SHUT UP! I hate you, I hate mom, I hate everyone! Just leave me alone!" Luke yelled.

_****_

_**He said I read it in the paper, can't believe you're 21,  
>I can't believe some son of mine could do the things I hear you've done.<br>He went on like some big hero, who flew in to save the day  
>And the boy said if your here, to steer me right, man, it's too late<strong>_

"WHY? Why do you hate me? I've been trying sense the accident with your mom-"

"So now im an accident?" his son demanded.

"NO! I'm talking about her trying to become the oracle! And I've been trying to help-"

"You can't help from a distance! You should've been there! Maybe if I was outside playing catch instead of hiding in a closet from my own mom, I wouldn't have gone down the path I did! Maybe I would've stayed on the right path, and still be alive! I wouldn't be standing here in a stupid cell in the Fields of Punishment!" Luke was basically screaming now. It hurt Hermes more then Luke would've known. He didn't understand how unfair life was for an immortal._****_

_**You had to be there, and I'm talkin' from day one.  
>That's the only time a man should talk through glass to his new son<br>And you'd have to go back, and teach me how when I was nine  
>Cause my mama couldn't throw a ball even if she had the time.<br>I should have been learning how to fish, instead of learning how to smoke.  
>I bet if you'd of whooped my tail, I'd never thought it was a joke<br>He said sometimes the will for doing wrong is way too strong for any mama's prayers**_

_**You had to be there.**_

But his rage wasn't over.

"What about all those days I've spent running on the street with Annabeth and Thalia! What about all those times I've ask for some help from you, but all you did was sit back and watch! You're the worst father there could and ever will be!" _****_

_**The man said, boy I'm sorry that you hate me like you do  
>The boy said dry it up man, we ain't making this about you.<br>It's about a teenage girl against the world who was left there high and dry  
>About a kid who might have stood a whole lot better shot at life, but<strong>_

He kept yelling, calling Hermes names that shouldn't be repeated, raging on and on about how he needed a father who would actually care._****_

_**You Had To Be There  
>And I'm talking from day one,<br>That's the only time a man should talk through glass to his new son  
>You'd have to go back and teach me how when I was nine<br>Cause my mama couldn't throw a ball even if she had the time.  
>I should have been learning how to fish, instead of learning how to smoke<br>I bet if you'd of whooped my tail I'd never thought it was a joke  
>Sometimes the will for doing wrong is way too strong for any mama's prayer<br>You had to be there.**_

"Fine." Hermes interrupted.

"What?" Luke stopped his ranted and stared at his dad as he had turned into a wild-eyed monster.

"Fine. Hate me. there's nothing I could ever say that will get you to understand what I've been through knowing how much you hate me, and how hard it was to watch my very pride and joy go over to the side that wanted to destroy the world. How I had wanted so badly to stay with you and your mother, but couldn't because my boss, my dad, wouldn't let me and kept me too busy with deliveries. So fine. Hate me, throw darts or knives at pictures of me, call me what you want. It won't make any difference on you, or anyone else. I'll feel like a bigger jerk then I already feel like, but that doesn't matter. Never did before, come to think of it." and he couldn't say anything else. He would've broke down. Taking a shaky breath, he turned and walked away through the endless crowds of dead people being tortured._****_

_**Before the boy hung up the phone, he said they say me I'm out of time  
>And it hit the man, right there and then<br>My god son, so am I **___

Luke watched him go.

"That was mean." He jumped at the sound of the voice. But turning around, he saw Nico in the back of his cell, leaning on the wall.

"What was mean?" Luke growled.

"What you said to him. It was mean. Even I wouldn't yell at someone like that. Sure, I get mad at my dad," he stood up and moved over to where the lock was, pulling a key from the shadows. "I'll have times where I hate him. Everyone does. But then Bianca reminds about what he's done that was helpful." He fumbled with the lock.

"So? Hermes doesn't care about me. He never did." Luke hissed.

"Before you were judged Hermes came to my dad. I heard him beg Hades to have mercy on you, and let you at least get Asphodel. He pointed out that if you hadn't stabbed yourself the way you did, the war would've kept going. He used everything he could think of, but my dad isn't known for having mercy." Nico continued, ignoring Luke's words as he looked for a different key.

"Why are you telling me this? How do I know your not lying?" Luke demanded.

"I'm telling you this because Hermes seemed really upset when you at him that way. Didn't you hear his voice crack at the end? And do I look like the kind who would lie about something like this?" Nico looked right at Luke, dark eyes dull and seemingly lifeless.

"You look like an emo idiot who-"

"Who's the son of Hades and can very easily have your punishment moved up from just opera and whatever else it is you're stuck with if you finish that sentence." Nico growled, causing Luke to back up a few paces.

"Your dad cares. He wouldn't have gone against Zeus's orders to stay away from here if he didn't."

"What?"

"You're stupider then Percy!" Nico snapped, eyes flashing. "Zeus told Hermes to stay away from the underworld unless he was delivering a message. He came here anyway, with no message for Hades, just to talk to you!"

_Just to talk….and lie about caring._ Luke thought.

Meanwhile, outside the entrance to the Underworld that's in Central Park.

Hermes took a few steps into the woods before falling to his knees in tears. Everything went wrong. Luke wasn't supposed to hate him, May wasn't supposed to be so insane, he wasn't supposed to be so troubled after talking to his son. It seemed like he sat there for hours, crying, waiting for someone to come and make fun of him, or throw rocks at him, anything.

What he wasn't expecting was an arm around his shoulder. Looking up, he saw Athena. She wasn't much of a hugger, but when Hermes looked up, Athena pulled him into her, in an attempt to comfort him. But it didn't work.

For five years, Hermes was in an utter state of depression and longing. He wanted his son to know he cared. And with May dying just a year ago, it seemed like nothing would go right. He worried the others. It was unlike him to be so depressed, so upset and quiet. They wanted his sarcastic remarks at the council meetings, they wanted to hear this laughter or even see a smile. But that seemed impossible.

After the fifth year, Hades decided enough was enough. He may be gloomy and moody, but Hermes was supposed to be cheery, happy, and fun. So he took Luke out of Fields of Punishment, and moved him to Elysium. But again, when Hermes went to see his son, Luke was mad. He hated his dad even more now, then ever. And only later that week did Luke hear that Hermes had given up immortality. For only five more months would be alive and in unbelievable pain, before he would fade away, and according to what Nico said (Luke was listening to Nico tell this to Bianca), "Even in his death, he wants to stay hidden. His depression was strong enough to lead him to this. All of this, because his son never forgave him. And wouldn't listen."

And for the first time, Luke regretted hating his father.

**I was bored, and had nothing better to do. So now you have another somewhat-depressing one-shot to possibly review. Please review!**


End file.
